The smaller classes: 11, 14 and 15

Three more prefixes

Chatelain gives each of these prefixes a class of its own: lu- is his sixth class, u- his fifth and ku- his eighth. In the standard numbering they are classes 11, 14 and 15. The first unit showed one example of each. This unit adds new examples and says what each prefix does. The plural of all three is made the same way, and it differs from the plural of class 5. In class 5 the plural prefix takes the place of di-. Here ma- goes in front of the prefix, so lu- becomes malu-, u- becomes mau- and ku- becomes maku-.

lu-: class 11

Nouns with lu- are ordinary nouns. The examples here name a thing and some ideas or states. To make the plural, put ma- in front: lu- becomes malu-. Chatelain's own example is the word for a wall. The dictionary has no entry for its plural, so the plural is shown as he prints it. The other three pairs are dictionary entries.

The plural can have extra meanings, so open a word to see every meaning it has.

This course teaches the speech of Luanda. Chatelain notes that inland, some lu- nouns that name one item taken from a group make their plural a different way. Inland speech differs here.

u-: class 14, qualities and offices

The prefix u- makes an abstract noun from a concrete one. It names the quality of the person or the office they hold. Chatelain's example is the word for a sick person, which gives the word for sickness. The table gives that pair and four more from the dictionary. In each pair the abstract noun is u- plus the stem of the base noun. When the base noun begins with mu-, the mu- is dropped.

The plural of a u- noun is mau-. Chatelain prints the plural of the word for sickness, shown here as he gives it.

ku-: class 15, infinitives as nouns

The prefix ku- goes before a verb stem to make the infinitive, the form of the verb that means "to read" or "to sleep". Chatelain writes that almost every noun of this class is an infinitive used as a noun. The infinitive can then name the action itself. It takes a plural only when usage has given it a concrete meaning.

• Kutanga · to read
• Kuzeka · to sleep
• Kulonga · to teach
• Kusokana · to marry

Two of Chatelain's examples, shown as he prints them: the word for death, with a plural for deaths, and the word for sewing. The plural gives them a concrete sense. In modern spelling the first is written with w, as the dictionary writes the verb.

A pair where both words are dictionary entries: the infinitive that means to quarrel also means a quarrel, and its plural means quarrels.

What to look for

A noun that begins with lu- is class 11, and its plural begins with malu-. A noun that begins with u- and names a quality or an office is class 14, and its plural begins with mau-. A word that begins with ku- and is built on a verb is class 15, and a plural, where it exists, begins with maku-.